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Buddy Check 10: Kickstands Up Against Cancer

"That's what celebrate life is about-- being there for other patients, other caregivers, and anyone that we can, just to say we'll help,"

The Celebrate Life Support Group is hosting their annual Kickstands Up Against Cancer on Saturday, September 15, starting at 9:30 a.m.

The event encourages supporters to bring their motorcycles to the Lowe's in Jefferson City for a ride around that beautiful section of East Tennessee.

All of the proceeds from the event go to the Celebrate Life Support Group, which will distribute the money to cancer patients in need. The group is focused on lifting others up through monetary donations and love, according to Celebrate Life founder Michele Sexton.

"We are going to help you with gas cards, we’re going to help you with an insurance deductible, we’re going to help you with a mortgage or a rent. We’re just going to help you," Sexton urged.

Sexton says she started Celebrate Life because she was diagnosed with breast cancer and noticed a large number of people who were not able to afford treatments or who didn't have insurance.

"I saw people that said 'I can't do my radiation. It's five or six weeks, and I don't have the money to come here every day for five or six weeks," Sexton said.

Sexton decided to start a support group for people who were going through the same thing she was, and from there, Celebrate Life was born. Everyone in the group has been touched by cancer in some way-- either by being the patient or the caregiver.

Sharon Taylor-Manning, who is a three-time cancer survivor, says it's an honor to be a part of something that helps other people.

"That's what celebrate life is about-- being there for other patients, other caregivers, and anyone that we can, just to say we'll help," Taylor-Manning said.

Taylor-Manning's son, Nathan Manning, says providing support is so much more than funding.

"Whatever's worrying them the most, we take that away and we replace it with love," Manning explained. "We all love things with wheels, but more importantly we all hate cancer, and all of us have been affected by cancer in one way or another."

Danny Webb, who served as a caregiver for his wife, says the members want patients to know they are not walking the road to recovery alone.

"Some other people's [already] walked that highway. They know the hurt. They know the pain, they know the suffering," Webb explained.

Celebrate Life is a Komen East Tennessee grantee. The group helps people with all types of cancers. To learn more, visit the group's Facebook page.

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